Are Minnesota and Los Angeles similar?

Posted on April 4, 2012 by jamiegall1930

Often, when people find out I’m from Minnesota, their response is, “wow, that’s quite a change for you, isn’t it?”

The truth is, I never know how to respond to that because I don’t think it’s that big of a change.

So, here is my list as to why I think Minnesota and Los Angeles are similiar.  Of course, at the end, I’ll also write how they’re different 😉

1) Bodies of Water

While LA is surrounded by beautiful oceans, Minnesota has beautiful lakes.  People run to the water to hang out, to have fun, to grill, to water ski, to boat, etc.

2) Urban Sprawl:

Los Angeles is a city that keeps growing and sprawling out, but did you know that the Twin Cities is very much like this?  The center are Minneapolis and St. Paul, but all around the cities are both the Northern Suburbs and the Southern Suburbs that continues to build and sprawl.

3) People stick to their areas

If you live in Hollywood, you usually stay in and around there.  If you live near Long Beach, you usually hang out and chill around there.  It is very similar in MInnesota.  If you grew up in the Southern Suburbs, you hang out around there.  If you grew up in St. Paul, you are loyal to St. Paul, if Minneapolis has your heart, you don’t leave it, etc.

4) Traffic

Okay, yes, Minnesota has traffic too.  The only difference is we have less people, and less cars running around, but have you ever been stuck on the 494 during rush hour?  Trust me, you don’t want to be!  And of course, going into downtown on either 35W or 35E during Rush Hour reminds me of heading north onto the 110 into downtown Los Angeles, and lets not forget how the 405  is very much a reminder of my dear 494.

5) Bonfires

Everyone loves a good bonfire, and it’s no different wherever you live.  People in Los Angeles like to head out to the beach to have their bonfires where the people of Minnesota will light one up in their backyard and start cooking s’mores off of them, or will head to the park and have one there with a group of friends.  There’s been plenty of bonfire parties in my life.

6) Museums

The love of museums are in every city.  My favorites of Los Angeles include: The Getty, LACMA, MOCA, The Natural History Museum, and the Annenberg Space for Photography.

My love of museums in Minnesota include: The Science Museum, Minneapolis Outdoor Sculpture Garden, The Minnesota History Center in St. Paul, and The Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

7) The Theater

The theatre community is alive and running in Minneapolis.  A great theater community has been built, and there is a true love of the arts there.

There is also an amazing theater community in Los Angeles with some incredible theaters around town.  I love the Long Beach Performing Arts Center, The Santa Monica Playhouse, The Sierra Madre Playhouse, and a few others around town.  They’re everywhere!

I could continue on and on.  To me, it’s all in perspective.  If you go to a new place you look for the familiarity of the place you came from.  I found comfort in Los Angeles and looked to Minnesota to remind me.  It is there.

However, they have their differences too:

1) Weather

But of course, I knew that coming here.  I needed the sunshine, I had to get away from that snow! 😉 I just couldn’t handle the cold anymore.

2) The Seasons.

Los Angeles has seasons too: Really Hot, and then the Cloudy/Rainy Season 😉 Which, come to think about it, the rainy season consists of maybe 10 rainy days altogether, but when it rains here, we all notice 😉

Whereas I truly miss the warm days of Spring in Minnesota and the changing colors of the leaves come fall.

3) Backyards

Since I live in Los Angeles, and there’s so many people everywhere, the lack of backyards, the lack of green is really noticeable to me.  People do have tiny areas, and small backyards, but not the huge backyards that I have come to know.

Perhaps this is more seen in the Inland Empire or in the OC. 😉

4) The Cost of Living 😉 

I had to put this one in here. 😉 The cost of gasoline is about 20 cents higher per gallon.  I could get a 2 bedroom apartment for the price of 900 dollars a month in Minnesota, where as here, it goes for nearly 1300 to 1500 a month.  😉

However, people can still make it work if they downsize, and keep looking until they find an apartment they’re getting a great deal on.

5) What People Eat

There’s a different style of cooking out here.  Of course, alls I know is my own style, so I don’t notice it all the time, but the first time I did was when I attended a cooking class last November.  And I heard of the conversation around yams.  And it began to open my eyes.

And I’m sure there’s a ton more, but for me, I always look towards the positives and look for the similarities more than the differences.  I hope you enjoyed this fun read.


Categories: Life, Travel | 3 Comments

Happy National Photographer’s Month!

Posted on April 1, 2012 by jamiegall1930

April is National Photographer’s Month, and I will be sure to talk up photography as much as I can this month.  Not only will I be sharing photos from some of my readers and friends and family, but also…

Every Thursday I’ll be talking more about photography by sharing some of my favorite photographer’s, and techniques I have learned along the way.

And as promised, the pictures below were submitted a few weeks ago.  I truly hope you enjoy them! And all of the pictures are taken with cell phones only =)

This is from one of my long time childhood friends, Courtney Smith,  of her beautiful daughter Sydney.  A precious moment captured.

Su Pak from www.IEshineon.com submitted this photo.  It was a picture of a macaroon from one of her favorite bakery in Claremont, CA.  Pretty creative on how she even got the name of the bakery into the photo =)

This photo was taken by Alexis from www.northonharper.com.  She was hanging out in Malibu for the day and utilized the Vignette App for Android while this was taken.

Maribel Reyes from www.strolleradventures.net submitted this phot of Los Angeles Union Station.  This is going down one of the main segways people utilize to catch their Red Line or Gold Line or Amtrak train.

Erika Kuznia submitted this photo.  It is of beautiful Lake Michigan.  Yes, in the midwest we may not have the Ocean, but we have beautiful, beautiful lakes, and the GREAT Lakes are the most spectacular.

Melissa Reyes from www.mizmeliz.com submitted this photo.  These are the delicious veggies laid out at the Calabasa’s Farmer’s Market.

Heather Atkinson from www.babybumpbeyond.com submitted this photo.  She says that her cell phone has become her main camera that she utilizes.  She was bummed on this day that they forgot the other camera at home until she got home that evening and was pleased with the photos taken.  She just utilized a black and white feature with this picture.

One of my amazing friends Noelle submitted this photo of her youngest daughter which has been coined the nickname of “Bean.” =) She is getting so BIG!

Lindsey Renuard from www.dishwaterdreams.com submitted this photo.  It had just started snowing, and her son, who was 3 at the time was fascinated by it, and just wanted to pick it up.  =)

Kristi from www.therobotmommy.com submitted this photo.  What a great capture of her child in the background of this magnificent light.  How many of you fellow photographer’s love taking pictures of fire? =)

Beautiful flowers that were captured by Jeni Ketchum that were taken by North Fort Hood, Texas.

I hope you enjoyed these photos.  I know I truly loved looking through them as I received them in my email inbox.  Next week I’ll be showing other photos that were submitted.

Also, if you want to see your cell phone photo up on this blog next week, it’s not too late to send some photos in.  Email photos to me at: demetrie1930@gmail.com


Categories: Photography | Tags: , , , , , | 7 Comments

My BUDGET Friendly Travel Tips ;)

Posted on March 28, 2012 by jamiegall1930

*Disclosure* I understand that everyone travels differently.  These travel tips are my strategy when I pick a place to travel to or visit.  It’s helped me out tremendously*  Feel free to share some of yours It is no surprise that I don’t have all the money in the world to travel, but I haven’t let that stop me in the past.  I have taken a few vacations in my life, and loved every minute of those vacations.  And now I want to share some of my strategies with you for Budget Friendly Travel

Little Italy, San Diego

1) Pick out Pedestrian Friendly Places By doing this you’re saving on transportation costs.  No car to rent, no need to, and your go see places are all within walking distance.

2) Look for the Deals Whether you’re scouring the newspaper for travel deals, or the hotels for even better deals, do it! Buy when the price is low, and affordable. Also, often times cities have their annual City Pass deals where at one price you purchase this city pass and it gets you into some of the more famed museums and attractions the city has to offer.

3) Visit a Friend How many of you have friends located out of state?  How often do you get out visit them?  If not enough, plan a visit.  They’d love to see you, and it’s good for both of you.  You for getting away from the place you reside, and for your friend because it may give them a new approach to the place they live in.  And it always ends in lasting memories.  And who knows, they may even let you stay with them which saves on the accommodations 😉

4) Make it a StayCation We all have a list of places we want to check out in our city.  On a weekend you’re wanting to get out and about pull out your list and pick something at random.  It’s a day out on the town in the city you may forget to give a second glance from time to time.

5) Cut the cost on the Hotel Some people won’t agree with me on this, but lets think about this.  When you go on vacation how often are you in your hotel room?  For me, I usually go there to have breakfast and to sleep.  As long as the hotel has a bed, a bathroom, and offers free breakfast it’s enough for me. Don’t get me wrong, every now and again, it’s nice to stay at a really nice, extravagant hotel to go all out on, and it’s totally okay to do once in awhile. But another key point when looking for hotels is look for newly open hotels, sometimes they have really good prices and deals because they’re not as well known yet.  I did this with a hotel in Orlando, Florida, and it was one of the nicest hotel stays I’d ever had! If you’re interested in traveling to Los Angeles.  These Los Angeles Vacation Rentals have some great deals to check out.

6) Go Camping! Some of the most affordable accommodations are at campsites!  So go camping and make it an adventure as you travel.  I know on our cross country road trip from Minnesota to California, we skipped the hotels and stayed at campsites the entire way.  And it was such a blast.  Sleeping in that tent at night looking up at the stars in the Colorado mountains was heavenly.

7) Hit the Cities around your State Instead of flying across the country for a major vacation, think locally.  Have you been to San Diego? Las Vegas? Places in Arizona or Utah? Or even San Francisco?  If not, make it a weekend getaway.  Just getting away from home will rejuvenate you in a way you’ve needed.  And these are some pretty awesome places. For those elsewhere think of the surrounding areas around you.  Is there a place within 4 to 6 hours that you’ve always wanted to visit?  DO IT!! You won’t regret it.

8) Go on a Cruise These cruises especially around the months of February and March offer affordable deals, and the best part is: food and accommodation are all apart of the deal.  And you get to stop at different ports along the way and see a few places you might not have otherwise. Some people don’t like cruises because they feel too rushed at a Port stop, but it’s a great way to visit a variety of places in one excursion.

9) Rent a Motor Home  Who doesn’t love a good road trip?  But think of it this way, a road trip that has the avail of food and accommodation all in one place??? Oh yea, that’s definitely the way to do it.  Just do your research and look to where you can park the motor home at night.  The cost may get hefty on that end.

10) Travel on the Actual Holiday. A lot of times the crowds at the airport are before or after the holidays, but the actual holiday the airports aren’t as hectic.  4th of July had a ton of travel deals each year, so look into those. The only holidays I wouldn’t recommend travelling around are Thanksgiving and the end of December 😉

11) Use your Tax Refund Put that tax refund to good use by planning a vacation.  Every year I don’t anticipate getting anything back from the government, so when I do, it’s a nice surprise and it’s used for something I’ve been saving up for or a vacation getaway! Anyway, just some insight into travel suggestions for getting your family out and about this upcoming year.  Summer’s right around the corner, start planning those vacations today =)


Categories: Fun Stuff, Travel | Tags: , , , , , | 12 Comments